WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.-
Monmouth University's women's basketball team used an impressive first half effort to build a 19 point halftime lead en route to a 79-62 victory over cross-state rival NJIT on Thursday night in Boylan Gym.
"We talked about the importance of pride," said head coach
Michele Baxter. "It wasn't a game that was going to count in the conference but we had a streak going and we wanted to keep that heading into an important game with FDU on Monday. I was hoping that we did do well to build on our confidence going into that matchup."
Monmouth, winners of four straight, improved to 6-12 overall while NJIT fell to 4-13 on the season. The Hawks shot 58% in the first half to build a 23 point lead at one point and closed out the first half with a 46-27 advantage that would put the game out of reach for the Highlanders.
Down by 19 coming out of halftime NJIT's Jackie McCaffery hit a three pointer on the first Highlander possession, then followed it up with a layup to cut the lead to 14. The teams went back and forth over the next four minutes before a Marisa Jimenez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) drive found the Hawks up 53-36. NJIT got the lead down to 11 after going on a 9-3 run, capped off by a pair of Adriana Jones' free throws. Monmouth got the offense going once again at the 6:31 mark when Marbely Montas (Cranford, N.J./Elizabeth) hit an open layup after a series of impressive passes by the Hawks. Jennifer Bender (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) and Montas hit back to back layups for Monmouth as the lead expanded to 17 (69-52) with 4:08 showing on the clock. Highlander Jill Dickinson hit a three pointer with 3:15 to go but the game was already out of reach.
After falling behind by a bucket early in the contest Monmouth rattled off six straight points, including layup from LaKia Barber (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) and Bender to earn a 6-2 lead with 17:01 left in the first half. Back to back shots from Nyaimah Ware (Washington, D.C./Dunbar), including a 10 foot jumper, extended the Monmouth lead to 11-4 with under four minutes run off the clock. NJIT clawed back to get to within four but Ware scored her seventh point in the first six minutes with a three pointer, resting the score at 16-9. Brooke McElroy (Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) followed suit with a three pointer from the baseline and the Hawks held a 10 point lead early on. The Hawks were relentless on the boards and efficiant in transition, which led to a 28-14 MU lead at the 9:58. Monmouth continued on that pace throughout the first half, earning a 46-27 lead after the first half.
Monmouth had four players score in double digits, led by Benders 18 points and nine rebounds. Ware finished with 14 points and seven rebounds while Veronica Randolph (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) had 11 in the win. Montas finished the game with five assists and 10 points.
NJIT's Dickinson had 19 points to lead all scorers while Jessica Gerald and Ivana Seric finished the game with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Monmouth shot 53.7 percent in the game while the Highlanders finished shooting 32.8 percent from the floor. NJIT held a 38-37 advantage on the boards.
The Hawks, currently tied for sixth place in the Northeast Conference standings, will face Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday night in Boylan Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
-www.GoMUHawks.com-
